A volcanic island, which was formed recently in the Pacific Ocean, is attracting a lot of attention. Last month, the new island started forming off the coast of Tonga and according to experts, in the beginning, a volcano was formed under the water surface of ocean and then it expanded into the island and a mile long, cone-shaped formation was created.

Three people took amazing pictures of the volcanic island after reaching the highest point on the new island. According to the Telegraph, the men who reached the island told that the surface was still hot.

Washington, Feb 20 - Stayzilla, an India-based service that combines regular hotel bookings with short-term, Airbnb -style rentals, has raised 20 million dollars in series B round for its hybrid service.

According to TechCrunch, Stayzilla's focus is on allowing users book accommodation across India for a stay of up to one month.

Stayzilla CEO and co-founder Yogendra Vasupal said that the service has almost 22,000 rooms wherein 36 percent of them are alternative and across 4,000 towns as of December 2014.

Vasupal said that alternative accommodation has emerged over the past year and the company aims to hit 50,000 rooms by the end of 2015. (ANI)

Chandigarh : Travelling by buses will be cheaper in Punjab from Thursday with the state government announcing to slash bus fares by 4 to 8 paisa per km in the state-owned buses.

The decision was announced on Wednesday and will be effective from Thursday.

Terming the reduction in fares as a "New Year gift" for the people, state Transport Minister Ajit Singh Kohar claimed it is for the first time in the history of the state that the bus fares have been reduced.

He said the bus fare for ordinary buses have been reduced by 4 paisa per km and will be now 87 paisa per km.

In a bid to boost its passenger traffic in the summer travel season, Air India on Tuesday cut the rates of its advance purchase tickets.

The government-owned carrier is offering lower-priced advance purchase tickets for travel commencing sixty days or beyond. The new advance purchase air tickets are available for sale on various routes operated by the carrier from today, March 13.

Air India said in a statement, "The apex tickets are available for sale for travel commencing around the middle of May onwards."

Sri Lanka usually doesn’t often get good press in the west. Rights violation at the end of the war against the Tigers, summary executions and the plight of the Tamil refugees mostly make up stories on Sri Lanka.

The government’s attitude too has been confrontational; British journalists have been thrown out, a Swiss reporter was about to be thrown out and so on.

A January-story in the New York Times (NYT) provided a rare layer of balm. It placed Sri Lanka at the top of the list of ‘31 places to go in 2010’. (Mysore, rather inexplicably I thought, was on 4).

Chandigarh, Jan 10 - The central government has granted Rs. 270 million to promote tourism in the union territory (UT) of Chandigarh, an official said Sunday.

"We have received a grant of Rs. 27 crore (Rs. 270 million) from the union ministry of Tourism. The financial support will help us in creating world-class tourism infrastructure at prominent places in the city," said UT home-cum-tourism secretary Ram Niwas.

He said: "It is our endeavour to develop Chandigarh as a major tourist destination of this region. I have directed all officials concerned to complete the tourism projects in a time-bound manner."

Washington, Dec 30 - The US government has issued a fresh travel alert asking its citizens to be cautious and defer their travel to Andhra Pradesh as violence continues there over the issue of a separate Telangana state.

"The US government continues to receive information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India," the State Department said Tuesday in the third travel alert issued since Oct 29. The new alert expires Jan 31.

"Terrorists and their sympathisers have demonstrated their willingness and capability to attack targets where Americans or Westerners are known to congregate or visit," the advisory said while alerting US citizens to continuing security concerns in India.

Madrid, Dec 22 - A total of 49.5 million foreign visitors arrived in Spain between January and November, placing the drop in tourist arrivals at 8.9 percent for that period, according to government data.

Through October, the decline in international tourist arrivals had been 9.3 percent, while in the high season - July, August and September - the accumulated fall-off was around 10 percent, according to survey results published by the Industry, Tourism and Commerce Ministry Monday.

Singapor - Singapore is famous for its skyscrapers and luxury hotels but the south-east Asian city is also a culinary capital with thousands of street food vendors in market halls providing tasty titbits for just a few dollars. Typical dishes on offer include fish curries and traditional chicken satays, fried rice and chilli crabs freshly prepared with top quality ingredients.

Bonn, Germany - The prominent statue of Ludwig van Beethoven in Bonn shows the composer striking a self-confident pose as he gazes over the Muensterplatz with his impressive head of hair.

The monument was erected by citizens in downtown Bonn in 1845 to mark his 75th birthday. It was designed to show the maestro as an inspired genius with raised eyes and about to receive a creative thought which he intends to write down in his notebook straightaway.

Brunei - Attempting to challenge their limits, two German adventurers set off last August to circle the globe in their four- wheel drive vehicle.

Leaving behind their electrical engineering business and conventional German life for a more rugged path of discovery, the adventurous pair, Jost Organista and Barbara Biggemann, embarked on their journey of "unlimited possibilities" after two years of intensive research and preparations.

Paris - France was once home to the Sun King Louis XIV but if you go to the French Alps you may feel as if you are in the land of the Snow King as between Les Menuires and Tignes there is a wintersport paradise with hundreds of pistes that lead down steep slopes and over gently rolling hills. The Trois Vallees ski region alone is the largest contiguous ski resort in the world and has 600 kilometres of ski runs and 200 lifts.

Dubai - Architects are agreed on one thing: An iconic building is often the result of just a few, genial strokes of the pen. The stylised form of the Eiffel Tower was dashed off in this way, along with the spectacular Burj Al Arab hotel which dominates the Dubai skyline.

Trujillo, Peru - "Life will punish those who react too late" is a quote by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that could easily apply to archaeologists in Peru. Grave robbers, or Huaqueros as they are known here, often plunder ancient tombs before archaeologists have a chance to protect them. But despite the damage caused to the country's ancient heritage, visitors will still find plenty to discover in this South American nation.

San Francisco - Their loud barking can be heard from a good distance away. Follow the sound and the smell of old fish remains and you will find them: A huge group of sea lions at the boat docks near Pier 39, a favourite attraction and gathering place along San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf.

Berlin - "Tuscany of the North" is how German Symbolist painter, sculptor and printmaker Max Klinger described the area around the village of Grossjena, now part of the Saale river town of Naumburg in eastern Germany. In 1903, Klinger acquired a small house in a vineyard in Grossjena that overlooks Naumburg and its landmark cathedral. In the vineyard he lies buried.